The Easiest Way To Tell When Your Pork Shoulder Is Done Smoking

If you're a fan of smoking meats, you know that the keys to pulling off a successful dinner are technique, practice, and a little patience. This holds true with pork shoulder (not to be confused with pork butt), which can sometimes require half a day in the smoker before it's fully ready to go. When it's nearing dinnertime and your patience is wearing thin, it can be tempting to just rip it out of the smoker and chow down. But how can you tell if your pork shoulder is truly done?

To find out, we picked the brain of celebrity chef Robbie Shoults, third-generation owner of Bear Creek Smokehouse and owner of Marshall Mercantile and High Horse 1898. "It's hard to give an exact time for smoking pork shoulders, but I would allow eight to 12 hours to get the job done right," Shoults told Tasting Table. "The best indicator to tell when a pork shoulder is ready is when you can grab the protruding edge of the bone and slide it out of the shoulder without any resistance. If you cannot remove the shoulder bone easily, it's not ready!"

As a general rule of thumb, allow about one hour of smoking time for every pound of pork shoulder, although it can take up to 90 minutes per pound in some cases. You'll want to keep your smoker to a temperature of 225 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, at around eight hours, as Shoults suggests, you can start checking for doneness. If you don't want to completely yank the bone out of the shoulder right away, start by wiggling it to see if there's any resistance (making sure to use a glove, since the meat will be hot).

However, a meat thermometer is another key tool that can help you determine the doneness of your pork shoulder. It should be good to go when it reaches 190 degrees Fahrenheit. As far as safety goes, you can stop smoking when your meat is 165 degrees Fahrenheit internally, but if you're trying to make tender pulled pork, you'll want to leave it in there for a little longer. If you're just going to slice your meat, however, you can pull it out at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. And if you don't want to constantly open your device to check the temperature of your pork shoulder, deploy a leave-in meat thermometer, which keeps the screen outside of the smoker.